Broken Guns - Anyone Have them Laying Around?

[squibload]

Broken Guns - Anyone Have them Floating Around?

At almost every show you go to, you find dealers selling Iver Johnson / H & R / "Owl Heads" etc. 5- and 6-shot .38 and .32 revolvers in varying states of disrepair.

We've all seen them - free-spinning cylinders, broken trigger springs, peeling nickle finish, etc.


Anyone have a broken gun somewhere in the safe/basement/etc?

Why haven't you had it/them fixed? (Availability of parts, $ spent elsewhere, don't care about it, parts too expensive)

Wondering for the purposes of a potential business venture. Thanks for the input.

squibload

 

[Poodleshooter]

Yes I have one. It's a Pietta 1858 Remington copy, that has cylinder indexing problems due to bad machining and hardening on the hand (it's soft,as are most of the springs in the revolver). For some reason it indexes on some chambers, but not on others. I tried buying spare parts from Pietta for $20,but that actually created worse problems. The entire gun is worth about $130 new,so actually having it fixed would be a joke. I use it as a hobby gun to learn more about revolver tuning.
Just as an aside, it doesn't seem to me that gunsmithing is a very profitable business unless: A. you deal in volume and B. your work is customization as opposed to repair.

 

[squibload]

Much thanks for the feedback. squibload

 

[BrokenPaw]

I have a horrible old Remington 522[0] Viper that won't fire...

I didn't pay attention to the instruction manual, and I shot a few hundred .22 hyper-velocity rounds through it, and some of the fire-control parts got all peened to hell and gone. I'm assuming that this is because it's a straight blowback semi-auto, and the hyper-velocity rounds blew back a bit harder than was proper.

So anyway, the thing won't fire any more, and can't be fixed without a part from Remington, and I can't be bothered, because it's one of the "restricted" parts that they won't sell to anyone who isn't a gunsmith, and it's not worth my time and effort to take bloody thing to a 'smith, because it's such a cheap gun it should be sold in disposable six-packs.

I learned my lesson: RTFM. I learned my other lesson: If it's that cheap at a high-profile sporting-goods store, there's a reason for that.

I've moved up, and I've no need for an undersized plastic plinker any more. So it languishes in obscurity in the gun vault, until I can find a gun buy-back program that's offering more than it's worth, NQA. Then, I'll take the money I get from the buyback and put it toward ammo for my other toys.

-BP


[0] Be gentle. I was young, I didn't know any better.

 

[squibload]

Thanks for the info, BrokenPaw.

 

[zahc]

I have an 870 that needs an extractor, but have had a hard time finding one. One place pretty far away claims to have one but I don't go that way often and I never found a good place online to buy one.

BTW it is "LYING"

 

[Big_R]

I actually have 4: A Springfield .22 auto, a JC Higgins 16 ga pump, a Brazillian 12 ga S x S and a HS .22 magnum revolver. The springfield needs a firing pin, the JC Higgins needs a whole lot, the S x S needs tuning (it went off when I moved the safety to fire) and the pistol needs a trigger. Why do I have them? Because they were all free, or I traded some ammo for them.

Ryan

 

[cdbeaver]

I have an old H&R nickel-plated break-open revolver that has been lying about my loading room for many years.

I've never tried to shoot it. Maybe it's because the barrel is .38 caliber and the cylinder is .32. I have no idea where it came from or why I still have it.

 

[squibload]

BTW it is "LYING"

That's correct. I edited my bad grammer in the first post after I realized the mistake, but couldn't figure out how to correct it in the thread title.

Thanks for the info on the 870. squibload

 

[Greg L]

BrokenPaw,

Don't worry you aren't alone. I've got a Viper sitting in the back of the safe waiting for the same thing .

Anyone need 3 Viper mags?

Greg

 

[squibload]

the barrel is .38 caliber and the cylinder is .32.

Then you may be in the market for the new Acme ".38 - to - .32 Tactical Shoehorn". Lets you shoot big cartridges from little barrels.

 

[BrokenPaw]

Anyone need 3 Viper mags?

The thing that makes me feel the most bad is that I have a bunchload of high- and hyper-velocity .22lr rounds in my vault, with nothing that will eat them...

Why won't .22WMR guns eat .22lr? I have a lovely Savage bolt gun in .22WMR...

-BP

 

[jsalcedo]

I bought an old H&R model 4 blued 6 inch with an octagonal barrel.

Shot it once but one chamber will not index.

I'm turning it into a shadowbox wall hanger.

I have taken some old guns to my local smith and asked him about fixing them. Some he fixes.

He has also said he won't work on anything that is not worth
fixing.

When I pressed the matter and asked him:
"what if money wasn't an issue?"

My gunsmith said if something has value as a shooter or as a collectors item he would be happy to work on it. If it is just a piece of junk, he doesn't want to mess with it no matter what.

 

[Edward429451]

I have a 22 auto nine. Been sent back for replacement of the extractor about ten times. Each time I take it out to test fire it again, it blows the extractor out within the first mag. I probably have close to the cost of the gun in postage. My postage money would be better spent on a 12 pack, and I don't drink!

On the Viper issue...My friends got one that don't shoot so well...I've been encouraging hm to try some Mini Mags or Stingers in it...I guess I'll let him in on the bad news while it's still fireable. Good thing he's cheap or it'd be broken by now.

 

[13xx]

marlin model 26 .22 bolt action with a snapped firing pin. too lazy to go spend the 45 bux to get a new one

 

[glocksman]

Why won't .22WMR guns eat .22lr? I have a lovely Savage bolt gun in .22WMR...

Chamber dimensions.

.22 WMR bullets are inside lubricated while a .22 LR bullet is outside lubricated. This makes the WMR case fatter than the .22 LR case.

The WMR case is also longer than the LR case.

All this was done deliberately to prevent some idiot from loading a .22WMR round into a 100 year old antique.

 

[Valkman]

I have 2 guns that my dad gave me, and neither "work". One is a 1940's vintage American Bulldog .38 revolver, I think it just needs some springs. The other is a 1860's Sharps 4-barrell derringer. I wouldn't shoot that one anyway, but I can't move the barrell at all. I believe the barrell pulls out to load the 4 rounds in.

 

[Devonai]

I've got a H&R 949 .22lr revolver that doesn't work very well. The mainspring rod is broken in half.

 

[MBG]

Two. I have a NAA Guardian in 32 with a broken extractor. Too lazy to send it back to the factory, but it’s covered. I’ll get around to it someday.

The other is an auto-ordinance 1911 model in 45. I bought it broken; the top end a victim of a self tune job gone wrong. The frame and feed ramp were in decent shape, so I bought it to sit underneath my Mech-Tech Carbine top end. I paid under $100, so I really didn’t care about the slide.

Marty

 

[gulogulo1970]

I've got a Colt Police positive circa 1917 that has a really,really heavy trigger pull (maybe 30lbs) and no grips some rust pitting. Also needs to be polished and re-blued.

I guess, I'm waiting for more money than brains and I'll fix it up. I thought about a gun buy back program but I can't do that to a Colt.

 

[foghornl]

Why won't .22WMR guns eat .22lr? I have a lovely Savage bolt gun in .22WMR

I don't know the exact answer on this one, but it has to do with case/chamber sizes. I think that the .22Mag is .001 or .002 larger in diameter than the 22 Short/Long/Long Rifle. I don't have it in front of me right now, but the manual from my Ruger Single-Six plainly states NOT to shoot .22S/L/LR in the .22Mag cylinder, because the case WILL split, and may cause injury to shooter and bystanders.

 

[morzryd]

I got a Whitney Wolverine 22lr given to me by my father when I was little.It has sat in the safe forever as the cocking piece was broken on one side and either the hammer or sear was severly worn as the hammer would just fall whenever it wanted to.I finally found a place that listed parts available for it......so I took it completely apart(Dont' know if I can put this one back together or not??? )and it still sits in the safe in about 50 pieces and still haven't ordered the parts.

 

[buzz_knox]

I've got a Delta Elite with (probably) a bad disconnector and a Glock 17 that needs its extended slide release tweaked/eliminated so it doesn't lock back with rounds in the mag.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Have an FIE Titan .25 that looks seriously broken. I can get replacement parts from GunParts Corp. but they will cost more than its worth.

Doesn't seem to be a point in fixing it.

 

[StuporDave]

I've only got one that could be considered "broken". It's a FN Browning 1906 pocket pistol. Actually it's a frame and slide for said pocket pistol. It was in a box of gun stuff I inherited, but all of the other parts are missing. I'd sort of like to put it back together, but I'm not sure it would be worth it, money-wise.

Dave